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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · net · tear · mate · chair · pop · fan · hand

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mate — a partner
  4. hand — help
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — in sport
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rock — a stone
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rock — music
  19. tear — to rip
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pop — soda
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com